Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 98,552 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,228 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Range Resources were worth $3,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,800 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $4,095,000 after purchasing an additional 21,440 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the 4th quarter worth $380,000. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the 4th quarter worth $567,000. Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 156.2% during the 4th quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 42,993 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 26,213 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 169.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,944 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 11,276 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Range Resources Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of RRC opened at $40.28 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.25. Range Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $41.95. The stock has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.13. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $626.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $676.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Range Resources Co. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RRC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $41.00 target price on Range Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Range Resources from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Range Resources from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James M. Funk sold 13,582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total value of $475,777.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,905,421.82. This represents a 19.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total transaction of $502,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,197. This trade represents a 88.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Profile

Range Resources Corporation operates as an independent natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, and condensate company in the United States. The company engages in the exploration, development, and acquisition of natural gas and crude oil properties located in the Appalachian region. It sells natural gas to utilities, marketing and midstream companies, and industrial users; NGLs to petrochemical end users, marketers/traders, and natural gas processors; and oil and condensate to crude oil processors, transporters, and refining and marketing companies.